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by Jim Holman.
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It's Time To Stop Putting It Off
By Robert Kumpel
Johnny Hochgraefe, 30, will be entering the seminary for the diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma this month. Hochgraefe has worked in San Diego as the manager of radio programming for Catholic Answers and has hosted Catholic Answers Live for the last two years.
"I warned them when they interviewed me that I did not have a theological background, just a basic knowledge of the catechism. They were looking for somebody with radio experience and a deep love of the Catholic faith. At the time, I was working as a country music disc jockey, playing requests and dedications.
"I started in radio in 1989 with a weekend job as an announcer at the college classical station. I moved to a top-40 station, then to a weekend evening "love hour" called "Magic After Dark." I moved to doing weekend requests and dedications at the number-one station in Oklahoma City, KXXY, a country format. In 1993, I graduated with my business degree [from University of Central Oklahoma] and moved to Las Vegas. I continued working weekends doing a request-and-dedication format on a country station there while working full time as a blackjack dealer. I don't think I'm following in the pre-seminary footsteps of St. John Vianney or St. John Bosco!"
Hochgraefe worked at Binion's Horsehoe and Harrah's. "They call Las Vegas 'Sin City' but daily Mass was more accessible there than any other city I've lived in. I could get off work at 3 a.m. and stop at a chapel of perpetual adoration to pray. Dealing blackjack was a wonderful opportunity to evangelize. Some gamblers would take God's name in vain if I'd deal them a bad card, and I would make very small gestures -- a bow of the head or a quiet prayer. I'd get louder if they kept doing it. One time a lawyer from Cleveland asked, 'Are my words bothering you?' and I said 'Yes. You are insulting someone I love very much -- Christ. It's a free country, you can say what you want, but He loves you and it hurts me to hear you say that.' So he stopped saying it. Another time, I was dealing to a guy who had a stack of credit card receipts on the table next to the few chips he had left. I didn't have the authority to invite him to stop playing. But he ran out of chips and said, 'I'll be right back' with his credit card in hand. Meanwhile, I was praying, 'Lord, this guy's got a gambling problem and he's making bad choices. Please stop him.' I prayed an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be to stop him from gambling. He came back and said, 'I went to the ATM to draw out more money, but the card wouldn't go through. I guess I'll call it a night.' It may have been a coincidence, but I believe in the power of prayer.
"I made my first holy communion at seven and after that I began serving Mass. I was very fortunate to have a devout, intelligent, reverent priest as a mentor. Being there at the altar when he would consecrate the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the reality of what was taking place, how we were connecting with heaven there at the altar, made a profound impact on me.... After high school, my family suggested that I get a college degree and get out on my own a little bit before jumping into something like that. After two years in Las Vegas, about the age of 24, I made my first vocations retreat. It hit me about a year or two ago that I really feel called to this and it's time to stop putting it off."
Hochgraefe has a younger brother and sister, and his parents have been separated since he was 17. All approve of his decision, but guardedly so. "My dad's pretty laid-back about it. He supports us in anything we do that's honorable. My mother doesn't quite understand it. She will say, 'I know that this is very important to you and because you're happy, I'm happy.'"
His parting words: "To any young man or woman who cherishes his or her Catbolic faith, I strongly urge them to be honest with themselves and fearlessly explore the possibility of a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. Find a priest that you trust and get somebody to guide you along the discernment process. To bishops and priests, there are vocations out there. There's a great shortage of priests in this diocese, the diocese of Tulsa, and many dioceses. The vocations are there. Look to any young man or woman that you see at daily Mass and talk to them about the possiblity of a religious vocation."